This invention relates to regulating the degree of roasting, particularly of coffee, in which the coffee is subjected to rapid microwave roasting and to quenching with water and air.
The microwave roasting of coffee is known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,114 relates to a microwave roasting apparatus comprising an inclined tube which is charged with the coffee grains, microwave sources distributed along the tube, a chamber with a last microwave source for controlling and completing roasting and a cooling chamber equipped with nozzles. In this apparatus, the degree of roasting of the coffee grains is increased by increasing the energy of the last microwave source. Another possible solution would be to reduce the feed rate of the coffee grains. The first solution involves an increase in energy consumption while the second involves a reduction in productivity.